Pineapple Cafe
by lenniemoo
Summary: "I never liked Pineapples, not at all. In fact, I hate them." Midorima Shintarou starts up his first medical clinic in a quiet part of town. He's achieved his life goal, and he couldn't be happier. But when his neighbour Takao Kazunari, owner of the cafe next door, turns his orderly life upside down, why does he not hate it? In fact... could he be enjoying it? ((MidorimaxTakao))


**Author's Note: **Muahahaha... Hello everyone. Have you missed me? I know you have. I've seen the hits on Red Bean Soup and No Logic... and I'M SO SORRY! University is sooo busy, but I managed to crank this new idea out. I wrote every single word of this one on the bus to campus, and the bus home... around an hour and ten minutes each way! How fun eh? Anyways... I hope you enjoy this one. I've planned this to be a shorter fic than RBS. :-)

* * *

The overwhelming smell of coffee beans was the first thing he noticed when he approached the area where the map had dictated his clinic to be. It was a two storey building divided into two portions. On one side, was a doctor's clinic. His own, of course. It was prim and clean, with two potted plants placed neatly beside the entrance. He was extremely satisfied with the orderly fashion in which it was design.

And on the other side of the building was… what was it anyways?

Midorima Shintarou was standing right in front of a cafe with a gigantic 2-D pineapple mounted above its doorway, and a small wooden sign that declared it to be _Pineapple Cafe_. Midorima didn't bother peering in to check out the decor because it was dark and far too early for a cafe to be open. He shook his head at his bad luck for being beside something as ridiculous as this. But there wasn't time to be idly standing around. It was time to go to work.

* * *

The moment Takao finally shook off the groggy effect of sleep as he lay with his eyes wide open while staring at the ceiling, he knew it was going t peculiar day. Call it his gut instinct, but he knew it would be eventful. It also had nothing to do with the fact that he checked the horoscope app on his smartphone and saw that the rankings for Love, Wellness, _and _Career were at max levels.

"_New things are coming your way #Scorpio,_" said a tweet that was sent to him by a dally horoscope Twitter account. Okay, it wasn't actually sent to his account either. After Takao saw that his horoscope for the day was absolutely fantastic, he got curious and searched up a horoscope Twitter account for confirmation. All of this was done while lying on his back and staring up at his smartphone.

"_so ready for this 'eventful' day… bring it on world,_" he tweeted.

He closed his eyes again. Five more minutes and he would get up. It wasn't as if work was far away anyways. It was right underneath his bed, in fact.

_Bzzt!_

A loud vibration emitted from his phone and Takao grumbled at the intrusion. He blindly reached for it again and pressed the home button. A tweet from a friend flashed on the screen.

"_How can you be ready if you're late for work? Open the door boss._" This came from a user called _momoi_09_.

He quickly punched out a reply.

"_be there in a sec._"

Getting ready was a scramble; his clothes were thrown on haphazardly, his face was washed in mere seconds and he nearly tripped going down the stairs while tying on his apron. The staircase leading down to the store was abnormally narrow after all. If he wasn't careful, Takao would break his neck going down them someday. It was already bright outside, and the sunshine was streaming through the windows. Takao silently thanked himself for not choosing white furniture otherwise his eyes would be burnt to a crisp at this point. That was an exaggeration of course, but where would the fun be in life without exaggeration?

He saw Momoi standing outside of the glass doors, staring down at her phone. Takao quickly pulled back the sliding metal gate, pushed it into its compartment in the wall and unlocked the door with his keys. She looked up at the noise and gave him an unimpressed look.

"Five minutes late! What if we had customers by now? You're lucky it's a slow morning," Momoi chided.

"Sometimes I swear that you're the owner of this store," he laughed.

"I'm sorry I'm the only responsible one," she huffed.

No matter how much she scolded him, Takao had her to thank for the success of the store.

"Okay, okay, get in. It's cold outside," He stepped back to let her into the store. After she entered, Takao locked the door again and set to get the store ready for opening. Something he should have done thirty minutes ago.

After all the chairs had been put down and the cash register prepared, Takao switched on the lights and unlocked the door. There was a small OPEN/CLOSE sign on the left door and he flipped in a routinely manner. There was a small group of customers waiting outside, but Momoi was already behind the counter. He welcomed them to the store, even though most of them were regulars.

He stepped out into the cold and took a step back to look at the store, making sure everything was in order, just as Momoi had taught him. Something caught his eye though, causing him to look in its direction. The empty retail space that was identical to his own store was now occupied.

"Wow, finally…" Takao breathed, "I have a neighbor."

The sign said _Midorima Health Clinic_.

"There better be a sexy doctor in there, otherwise I'll be sorely disappointed," he joked to himself and walked back into the store.

Midorima had no idea what he was supposed to do on the first day of opening. Obviously there wouldn't be many patients because the word wouldn't have spread that there was finally a clinic open in the district, but it would eventually. He roamed around the building idly and read a book behind the counter. The secretary, Matsunaga, he had hired was doing her best with advertising on social media, but she already was bored at this point.

"Should we grab something to eat?" Midorima asked.

Her face lit up as if she had been waiting for him to initiate (she probably was) and she nodded happily, making her long black hair shake side to side.

"Yes please," she said politely.

They locked up the clinic and put up a break sign on the door just for cautionary measures and stood in front of the door, wondering where to go.

"It's best if we don't take too long, just in case," Midorima said, "I also haven't really figured out your breaks yet but I assume that it'll be around and hour long for each shift…"

"That's okay!" Matsunaga said brightly, "I'm fine with anything."

Midorima silently mused about how nice it must be to be so young and "fine with anything".

"I do have a request though," she asked.

"Yes?"

"I moved into this area awhile ago, but I've heard some really good things about the café next door!" She pointed towards the pineapple.

He pursed his lips in uncertainty. The café seemed so odd. But Midorima suddenly recalled his Oha-Asa for the day and a phrase popped up in his mind.

"_Don't be afraid to take risks today, it will pay off._"

"Alright then," he said, "let's go get some pineapples."

They pulled open the glass door and were greeted by the scent of baked goods and coffee. This wasn't surprising though; it was a café after all. The surprisingly large store had wooden tables that were lined up and spaced neatly around the floor. Most of them were filled with customers, most of them young and female. There were several glass cases along a wall that featured small trinkets of some sort. In a corner, there was a small staircase leading up.

"This is exactly the same as the clinic… with no walls," he said out loud.

"You're right, I didn't notice," Matsunaga commented. It was rather strange, seeing it in such a way. They stood there for a few seconds until a voice interrupted them.

"Hi, may I take your order?"

Midorima looked around. Was there someone speaking to them? He didn't see anyone at the counter.

"Did you hear that?" He asked Matsunaga.

"No, what did you hear?"

The voice spoke again.

"Excuse me, I'm behind the counter," it said.

Midorima looked back to the front and suddenly saw a small blue-haired male staring blankly at them. He jumped in surprise.

"Ha-Have you been there all this time?" Matsunaga stuttered.

"Of course, this is where I work after all," he replied in a matter-of-fact tone, "My name is Kuroko Tetsuya. May I take your order?"

Midorima raised his eyebrows at the strange barista who seemed to have no presence whatsoever. How on earth did he even land himself a job? The employer must have had very sharp eyes in order to notice him.

"Can you recommend us anything? We're taking out for lunch," Midorima asked.

He didn't even think for a second before belting out a string of suggestions.

"For lunch, I'd recommend our sandwiches paired with a bowl of chili…and an iced latte on the side," he said.

Matsunaga and Midorima exchanged a questioning look. They seemed to be in agreement.

"Alright, sounds good. Two of those, ple-" Midorima started.

"Oh, but you can't forget one of our signature pineapple dessert. You guys look like newcomers, so you _have _to try one," Kuroko said.

Matsunaga looked up at Midorima with pleading eyes.

"Fine, two of those please," Midorima nodded.

He instructed Matsunaga to return to the clinic while he waited for the food. Kuroko turned towards the back counter and started to prepare the food. The chili was stored in a home-style crock-pot, and was ladled into paper bowls. The sandwiches were wrapped in a paper bag, so he couldn't make out their like. But the pineapple pastry was the one thing that surprised him the most. When Kuroko handed everything to him in a large paper bag with handles, Midorima plucked out the first thing in the bag out of curiousity. It was a delicately wrapped square that had a small pineapple sticker holding the floral wrapping together. On the back, there was a small patch of paper. On it was a handwritten note.

_Open to find your fortune! _

The writing was in a smooth and neat handwriting.

"Huh," Midorima muttered under his breath.

Interesting.

* * *

Having Momoi and Kuroko in the store satisfied his worries. It was around time he greeted the neighbours, so he left the two in charge. Takao left through the back door and made sure to take off his apron. As he approached the door of the clinic, there was a young female unlocking the door. She was fiddling with the keys and finally noticed him when she got it to open.

"Ah! Hello!" She said.

"Haha.. hello…" Takao laughed, unsure of what to say.

"Are you here to see Doctor Midorima?"

"Yeah, I am," Takao quickly recovered. It was a bit awkward having to introduce himself as the owner of the café, so he rarely did it unless anyone asked.

"Alright, come on in," She said as she held the door open.

Takao stepped in and took a look at the sleek and clean décor. It seemed to be in the same layout as the café, but there were more walls added for the patient rooms. It still smelled like fresh paint.

"You can just head into room one, he'll be here shortly," she said.

"Thanks," Takao smiled stiffly and shuffled into the room. He looked around at the bed, and the swivel chair for the doctor. There was also a chair for the patient but he decided to hop on the bed instead.

"How awkward…" he muttered to himself and set the paper bag he was still clutching in has hand down on the floor. Takao rubbed his hands on his jeans idly and wondered what Doctor Midorima looked like. Was he a senile old man?

He heard voices outside of the door. It was the girl speaking to a male.

"You have a patient…or a visitor. I'm not really sure. He's in room one," she said.

"Okay, thanks. Here's the food, you can set my portion aside for now," the voice said.

Footsteps approached the door and he sat up straighter in his seat. Takao suddenly felt a bit nervous. The door opened and Takao looked up to see a tall and glowering young male, with a mop of green hair, stern eyes and an expressionless mouth. His eyes were evaluating Takao, and he felt his mouth slightly hanging open.

"Uh…" Takao blinked several times, unsure of what to do.

"Can I help you?" He said as he closed the door. Takao swallowed stiffly as the air grew thick.

"My name's Takao Kazunari… could you help me out with something?"

He took a seat in the swivel chair and placed his clipboard on the little stand that stuck out of the end of the bed.

"Sure," he said coolly.

Takao's eyes flashed down to his fingers gripping a pen, poised on the clipboard. They were smooth, thin, and perfectly shaped.

"I've… been having symptoms…" Takao said slyly. He had an idea; a very good idea.

"Would you like to describe them?" He said as he scribbled a note down.

"My heart… it's been having abnormal behavior," Takao said slowly.

"Such as?"

"Increased heart rate, flushed cheeks, and sweaty palms."

More writing.

_His serious expression is seriously cute._

"Hmm. Is there anything in particular that triggers these symptoms?"

Takao tapped his chin.

"Could you measure my heart rate?" Takao pleaded, "I can tell you then what triggers it."

Midorima pushed up his glasses, looking slightly confused.

"Alright…" He said unsurely.

He stood up and leaned over the bed to grab the stethoscope. Midorima prepared the piece of equipment and looked at Takao.

"Excuse me," he said as he placed the other end on Takao's chest.

_Woah. He smells amazing. _Takao inhaled sharply and he felt his heartbeat going crazy. The doctor's face was close, and he could see his eyelashes, his irises and…

"Your heart rate is definitely picking up," Midorima said in a concerned tone.

"It's embarrassing… but can I whisper it to you?" Takao said softly.

The green-haired doctor shot him a look that obviously said "What the hell is wrong with you?" but he complied and brought his ear closer to Takao.

"It's…" He whispered huskily, "It's this absolutely drop dead gorgeous doctor in front of me that's making me flustered."

Takao stayed in his position, with his lips almost grazing Midorima's ear for a good three seconds before pulling away and giving him a wolfish grin. Midorima had a perturbed look upon his face, and before he could open his mouth, Takao leapt off the bed and grabbed the paper back he brought from the café.

"Thank you for the nice welcoming, neighbor. Here are some treats," Takao said as he plopped them on the bed and walked towards the door.

"Buh-bye," he grinned again and shut the door behind him as he left.

There was a mirror right in front of the door, and Takao saw that his cheeks were actually slightly red.

_Well, can you blame me? I was in a tiny room next to this absolute hottie and I had to do __**something **__daring… _

He brushed past the receptionist without saying a word and as he stepped out into the cold once more, he turned back to look inside the clinic. Midorima had left the room and was staring out the door. Their eyes met for a second before Takao turned away quickly.

There really was a hot doctor in there.

And his fortune was absolutely right.

* * *

Midorima felt flabbergasted as the raven-haired man stormed out of the room after whispering crazy things in his ears. Drop dead gorgeous? Neighbour? Him? He massaged his temple and gathered his composure. He stood up and exited the room, only to see Takao Kazunari looking back at him and quickly turning away.

Midorima bit his lip and slipped the fortune he received out of his pineapple pastry out of his pocket. It still had a crumb or two, but he brushed them off absent-mindedly.

_Passion is an arrow that shoots straight into the heart._

* * *

:*) Read and Review lovelies!


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